Various types of conveyors for conveying particulate material in a packaging machine are known in the prior art. One type of conveyor is an auger type. In an auger type conveyor, the material is conveyed through a chamber by means of a rotating screw or auger. A vibratory type of conveyor has also been used in prior art packaging machines.
A vibratory conveyor used in conjunction with an automatic weighing apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,280 issued to Aarts. Single direction vibratory conveyors which are used in conjunction with automatic weighing devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,352,114 issued to Muskat; 2,687,272 issued to Schieser et al., and 3,195,662 issued to Joiner et al.
A two-way vibrating conveyor is produced by the General Kinematics Corporation of Barrington, Illinois. This vibratory conveyor utilizes electrically driven rotary eccentrics to vibrate the conveying surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,852,045 issued to Goodner and 4,056,132 issued to Decrane each disclose bag holding mechanisms for use during the filling of the bags with material.